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NC Policy watch has the scoop on the black hole of Art Pope money influencing North Carolina elections.

First up, State Supreme Court Justice candidate Bob Hunter sent out a letter for an exclusive and expensive fundraising event signed by Art Pope, who just happens to currently serve as McCrory's Budget Director.

If elected, will Hunter excuse himself from cases involving the administration to avoid any conflict of interest?

And DHHS Secrety Aldona Wos has a connection to a Civitas fundraiser:

Item #2 is also a fundraiser — this one for the Locke Foundation. Next week, the group will have its 24th anniversary fundraiser. The event, which will feature Fox News talking head Chris Wallace, is sponsored by a bevy of corporate heavyweights with lots of business before state government — including the “title sponsor,” tobacco giant Reynolds American.

Perhaps more interesting amongst the list of sponsors, however, is the “partner sponsor” — a corporation known as New Breed Logistics. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it should; it’s the corporation headed by Louis DeJoy — husband of state DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos. It’s also the company that allowed one of its execs (a guy named Joe Hauck) to join Wos’ team at DHHS under an expensive and controversial personal services contract.

Both of these new developments come on top of last week’s report by Chris Fitzsimon that a new review of the state budget itself will be headed up by Pope and one of his staffers in the budget office — former Locke Foundation staffer, Joe Coletti.

Allowing a fundraising letter to go out over the signature of the Budge Director is such a blatant example of the "appearance of impropriety" that Justice Hunter should not be re-elected if he can't see how inappropriate that is.

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